The Champions Review | Free Spins, RTP & Max Win

Where to Play The Champions

The Champions is available at all the best UK casinos that offer Pragmatic Play slots. The best bookmaker casinos in the UK where you can find The Champions slot include MrQ, SkyVegas and Amazon Slots, all of which are fully UKGC-licensed.

MrQ Casino is a user-friendly casino with a strong Pragmatic Play slot library and one of the best welcome offers in the UK. New players can claim up to 300 free spins by depositing and spending £10 a day for three consecutive days, with all winnings paid as real cash and no wagering requirements attached. The site covers slots, bingo and live casino and is one of the more player-friendly casino platforms in the gambling industry.

SkyVegas Casino is part of the well-known Sky Betting and Gaming group and leverages the trust that comes with one of the UK's biggest consumer brands. It holds a full UKGC licence and runs a solid game library with a strong focus on Pragmatic Play and Blueprint Gaming slot titles. Weekly prize draws and slot challenges keep the existing player promotions calendar active and the platform works well on both desktop and mobile.

Amazon Slots is operated by Jumpman Gaming Limited under a full UKGC licence and boasts more than 600 games from Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Play'n GO and other leading gaming providers. New players get a Mega Reel spin on their first £10 deposit with a chance at up to 500 free spins. A five-tier VIP programme rewards regular play with cashback and free spins at each level.

The Champions Slot Review

Before the reels spin for the first time, The Champions slot allows you to choose from 32 national teams that featured in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. After choosing your favourite team, you can change the shirt symbol and bonus badge on the reels to match your selected nation, and this gives every session a personal feel that most football slots skip entirely.

The setting is a full stadium at kick-off with roaring crowd noise and bright floodlights in the background. Symbols on the reels include the Golden Trophy Wild, football boots, a jersey, a whistle, and a match ball. They animate on winning paylines, and the audio builds as the Momentum system climbs through levels. The overall design is sleek and clean without being flashy, which suits the game's older release date and casual tone.

Pragmatic Play holds licences across multiple regulated markets, including the UK Gambling Commission, and The Champions is fully available to UK players at any UKGC-licensed casino that offers Pragmatic Play slots.

The Champions RTP, Volatility & More

The RTP of this slot sits at 96.51%, which is higher than the 96% figure most players use as a benchmark. Some casinos might run a reduced version, so check the game information screen before playing to confirm which is active at your chosen casino, because the gap matters more over longer sessions than it might seem.

Medium volatility of this slot is the right fit here. Sessions feel active, with smaller wins keeping the balance moving while the Momentum system builds in the background. You are not grinding through long periods of occasional wins the way you would in a high volatility slot. Plus, the base game is designed to keep you engaged between bonus triggers rather than simply waiting for something to happen.

Paylines and Ways to Win

The 5x3 grid runs on 25 fixed paylines, all paying left to right from the first reel, and every spin covers all 25 lines automatically. For players new to online slots, a payline is a set route across the reels. Matching symbols landing on the same route from left to right produce a win at the value shown in the paytable.

The Momentum system sits on top of the standard payline wins and is the most interesting feature of this slot. The player places markers on specific reel positions before spinning, and when football symbols land on those marked spots, the player scores goals and advances the level counter. Those levels feed directly into multipliers on all payline wins, which is where the game's real potential comes from.

Important Game Features

Wild Symbol

The Golden Trophy is the Wild, and it substitutes for all standard symbols to complete winning combinations. It does not substitute for the bonus symbol, but it appears across all five reels and contributes to wins on any of the 25 paylines. 

Momentum Progressive Game

This is what makes The Champions slot genuinely different from the average football slot. You place markers on positions across the reels, and when a football symbol lands on a marked position, it scores a goal and moves the level counter up. The game runs from level one to level 11. Each level applies a multiplier to all payline wins, starting at 2x and climbing up to 20x at the maximum level. Reaching the higher levels during a session makes a meaningful difference to how much standard payline wins actually pay out.

Penalty Shots Bonus Game

Landing three or more of your chosen team's bonus symbols anywhere on the reels triggers the Penalty Shots Bonus. You get five penalty attempts and each successful shot awards a prize multiplier on your triggering bet. The possible values across the five shots are 5x, 10x, 15x, 25x and 100x. Missing a shot does not end the round and the prizes accumulate across all five shots rather than applying only to the final one. The total from the bonus round feeds back into the session to produce the game's highest possible returns.

How to Play The Champions Online Slot

Open the slot and choose your team from the 32 options. Set your stake using the bet selector, which runs from 25p to £125 per spin, press Spin and the game takes care of the rest.

The paytable symbols in order of value are the Golden Trophy Wild at the top, followed by the football boots, football shirt, match ball and whistle. The bonus symbol is your chosen national team's diamond badge. Landing three or more of these bonus symbols anywhere on the reels triggers the Penalty Shots Bonus. 

During every base game spin, keep an eye on the markers and the level counter. Getting football symbols to land on marked positions is the path to higher multipliers, and a payline win at level nine or ten pays considerably more than the same combination at level two.

How to Win at The Champions

No betting strategy changes the outcome of any spin. The RNG controls every result and the markers, multipliers and bonus triggers all follow certified random processes. Betting higher does not make the bonus more likely.

What you can manage is your session length. Set a clear budget before opening the game and size your bet so it covers at least 80 to 100 spins. That gives you a realistic number of opportunities for the Penalty Shots Bonus to land before your budget runs out. The game has medium volatility, which means your money usually goes up and down steadily. But if you bet too much and the bonus does not come for a while, you can lose your money faster than you expect.

Where to Find a The Champions Demo Free to Play

A free-to-play demo is available at most online casinos that offer Pragmatic Play slots and you can find a free-to-play demo at Pragmatic Play's official site without even creating an account. UK players at licensed casino sites need a verified account to access the demo mode under current UKGC rules, though no deposit is needed. The demo is worth using specifically to get a feel for the team selection mechanic and how the Momentum level counter builds before you play with real money.

How Is the Mobile Experience?

The Champions is built on HTML5 technology and runs on both iOS and Android devices without any download needed. The 5x3 grid scales nicely to smaller screens and the marker system remains easy to read on mobile. The Penalty Shots Bonus feels natural with touch controls and the game runs smoothly on mid-range devices without any noticeable lag.